Fireplace wood elevator



Nov. 5, 1946. L. P. BRUNETTE 2,410,623

' FIREPLACE WOOD ELEVATOR Filed July 9, 1945 2 Sheets$heet 1 w INVENTOR. Louzs .P. Brnumi'ie FIREPLACE WOOD ELEVATOR Filed July 9, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Tiqflu. 5 INVENTOR- Zouis Z? Br-unelte hfcmi'qy Patented Nov. 5, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIREPLACE WOOD ELEVATOR Louis I. Brunette, Farmington, Conn.

Application July 9, 1945, Serial No. 603,959

4 Claims.

This invention relates to elevator apparatus, and more particularly to a fireplace wood elevator which is adapted to raise cord wood from the cellar of a house to a compartment located alongside a fireplace aboVe the cellar.

One object of the present invention is to provide an elevator apparatus of the above nature in which the elevator platform is operated by means of a pair of motor-driven sprocket chains connected to the rear of said platform, and having means for transmitting the lifting force from the rear to the front of said platform whereby said platform will be maintained in a level condition at all times and with the minimum of friction.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the above nature in which the sprocket chain has a laterally projecting lug which is adapted to engage a pair of circuit-opening switches when the elevator reaches either the top or bottom of its motion, respectively.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the above nature which will be relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very eflicient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawings one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 represents a sectional view of the cellar and first floor of a dwelling house, showing the improved elevator apparatus arranged for lifting cord wood from the cellar to a compartment adjacent a fireplace on the first floor.

Fig. 2 is a. horizontal sectional view on a larger scale of the elevator shaft showing the relative location of the elevator platform, the reversible driving motor, the operating sprockets and chains, and the lift-equalizing cables.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same, shown partly in section.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same, also shown partly in section.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral ill indicates a base plate which is adapted to rest upon the cellar floor II, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4. The elevator and shaft are adapted to be enclosed on three sides by a U-shaped frame I! mounted on the base plate l and extending to the ceiling of the cellar below the first floor 20.

The base plate [0 is provided with a. side extension l3 which serves tosupport a reversible motor 34, the operation of which will be described later.

5 Located within the U-shaped frame 12 are four vertical pillars l4, l5, l6, and [1 arranged at the corners of a rectangle, and surmounted at their tops by a horizontal rectangular housing l8 having a rectangular aperture I 9 through which wood 10 carried by an elevator platform 21 is adapted to pass upwardly. The elevator shaft is adapted to be located alongside the base 2| of a brick fireplac 22, herein shown as located on the first floor 20, said fireplace having a mantel shelf 23 above it.

A compartment 24 is located at the left of the fireplace for the storage of cord wood or any other articles. The storage compartment 24 is provided with a pair of outwardly opening hinged doors 25 which are identical in appearance with a similar pair of hinged doors 26 located at the front of a similar cord wood compartment 24a positioned above the top of the elevator shaft.

The elevator platform 2'! has a quantity of 25 cord wood 21a resting upon it, and is supported in an offset position spaced upwardly from an open frame 28 by means of a plurality of vertical rods 29.

In order to guide the front of the elevator with 30 the minimum of friction, provision is made of a plurality of concave rollers 30, 3| located on the front and rear of the front pillars l4, l5, respectively. The forward rollers 30 are mounted in horizontal brackets 32 which are rigidly connected at their rear ends to the bottom of the open frame 28. The rollers 3| are connected to brackets 33 which are rigidly mounted on the forward vertical supporting rods 29, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

For the purpose of driving the elevator up and down in the shaft within the frame [2, provision is made of a reversible electric motor 34 having a driving shaft 35 upon which is mounted a pinion 36 meshing with a gear 31. The gear 31 is mounted upon a horizontal shaft 38 located within the frame I! and journaled in a pair of upstanding bearing brackets 39, 39 resting on the base plate I0. Rigidly mounted on the shaft 38 are a pair of lower sprocket gears 40 having a {pair of sprocket chains 42 meshing therewith, said sprocket chains passing upwardly within the U-shaped frame 12 and around a similar pair of upper sprocket gears 4| mounted upon a top horizontal shaft 42a, journaled in bearing brackets 42b, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

One end 33 of each chain 22 is fixed to the open frame 28 and said chain, after passing around the upper and lower sprocket gears ti and do has its free end 44 secured to an adjust-- able angle bracket 25 which is suspended from said frame 28 by mean of an adjusting bolt 66 having a head H on its lower end, and a pair of nuts 48 on its upper end located above said frame 28.

In order to cause the stopping of the platform 2? when it has reached its upper or lower positions within the elevator frame !2, provision is made of a pair of stop switches 49, 55, rigidly secured in adjusted positions adjacent the upper and lower ends of the vertical pillar in, said switches being adapted to be engaged by a letorally-extending 111g 5i adjustably secured on the free end of the righthand chain 52, in such a position that the switches 49, 59 will b actuated to open the motor circuits when the wood-carrying platform 2'! has reached its upper and lower positions, respectively, as mentioned above.

If desired, provision may be made of a circuit breaker (not shown) which will be actuated when engaged by the pile of wood 27a stacked upon the platform 2? to shut off the elevator motor in case said pile of wood is excessively high,

Provision is also made of a manually-operated reversible motor switch 52, herein shown as conveniently located abov the cord wood compartment of the elevator.

For the purpose of providing a lifting force at the front of the elevator platform Zl equal to that applied by the sprocket chains 42 to the rear of the platform, and thus maintain said platform level, provision is made on both sides of the U- shaped frame it of three pulleys 53, 54, 55, having a cable 58 running thereover-said cable having one end El adjustably connected to the angle bracket 65, and its other fixed end 58 is connected to the horizontal bracket 32 extending forwardly from the frame 28.

Operation In operation, when it is desired to use the elevator, the cord wood 21a will be loaded on the platform 2'! in the cellar, and the operator will turn the switch 52 in such a direction as to cause the motor to drive the elevator upwardly.

When the elevator reaches the raised position shown in Fig. l, the lug 5! will engage the switch 49 and automatically open the motor circuit, stopping further movement of the platform.

When the operator wishe to return the platform to the basement, it will only be necessary for him to throw the switch 52 in the reverse direction, causing the motor 34 to drive the platform 27 downwardly, until the lug 5! engages the circuit-opening switch at the lower end of the pillar i6.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure, but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within scope of the following claims,

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it i desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In an elevator apparatus, a supporting frame including a plurality of vertical pillars, a horizontal elevator platform mounted to move up and down within said frame, a reversible motor, a sprocket driven by said motor, a sprocket chain operated by said sprocket and connected at both ends to one side of said platform, and means to guide the front of said platform comprising two sets of concave rollers mounted in bearings rigidly secured to said platform and engaging the front and rear of the pillars located at the other side of said platform.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which said rollers are mounted upon a downwardly spaced frame which is rigidly connected in spaced relation with said platform.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which provision is made of a lug carried by said chain, and a pair of circuit-opening switches in alignment with the path of said lug to stop said motor when the platform has reached the end of either of its upper or lower motions respectively.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which said sprocket chain is adjustable.

LOUIS P. BRUNETTE. 

